May. 03, 2022
Dear SEC, As a GBTC shareholder, I support the conversion of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (OTCQX: GBTC) — to an ETF. By not approving this conversion, you are not protecting me, the investor, the very person you were appointed to protect. Last October, you approved futures-backed Bitcoin ETFs, but continue to reject applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs. Given that investors use both vehicles to gain exposure to the same underlying asset, Bitcoin, from which both vehicles derive their prices, we, as investors, should be able to choose if we’d like direct or futures-based exposure to Bitcoin. Furthermore, the discount to NAV in GBTC has been around 25%, on average, this year. This means that the price of GBTC is less than the price of Bitcoin, the asset itself. Given that GBTC has about $30bn in AUM, shareholders like me are experiencing a destruction of value of around $7.5 billion. I’m writing from Virginia to express my view and with the hope that you will approve this conversion quickly, like before Memorial Day, and protect the interest of investors. Sincerely, Stephen Hammond